If you've read any international news regarding China recently, you'll definitely have read about the environmental disaster that is Beijing's air.

Over the weekend and heading into the week, Beijing's been covered in a terrible haze of "smog", causing issues with traffic, air travel, and most importantly health. The Air Quality Index, an index used to judge particle matter in the air, went off the charts in Beijing. As of this writing, the AQI is reading 335—that's "Hazardous".

The air quality issues being as dire as they are have been jokingly referred to by some in the game development community of Beijing as "Welcome to Silent Hill."

Advertisement

Walking outside in the smog felt like walking through a sand storm—I'm sure many of our readers in the Middle East will know what I'm going through. If you've never walked through thick pollution, here's what it's like. The first thing you notice is your eyes burning, then a slight sulfur-y taste in your mouth even though your mouth isn't open. After an initial breath of automobile exhaust, the following breaths feel almost tinny. The closest thing that I can equate it to would be walking through a metal shop without a protective face mask. But hey, don't take my word for it: here are some reactions from Beijing's game development community.

Game designer Andy Lee Chaisiri took this photo while he was downtown Saturday, also referring to the Chinese capital as "Silent Hill".

Advertisement

Chris Pfeiffer of Kabam says that walking through downtown Beijing was like walking through soup.

"Dude, it's soup outside! Like a beach was sent through a fan, its microdermabrasion for FREE!"

Pfeiffer also made a joke about it was like living in GTA.

"It appears that my video card isn't very good. The fog plane is very close.
if I see an pop in... then I'll know I am living in GTA"

One thing that everyone agreed on was that being outside was definitely not healthy. I've even interviewed a few doctors who advised everyone stay indoors. The top photo, a photo outside of my apartment building taken by my neighbor, can show you how poor visibility is. My neighbor Jimmy and I both live on the ninth floor. Looking outside today, I couldn't find any better excuse to just stay home and play video games. Unfortunately I had to go to work.

Advertisement

Bonus photo—can you see the ferris wheel?

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.